The 2030 World Expo will take place in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. As the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris, responsible for the award, announced today, 119 BIE member states voted for Riyadh, which obtained the necessary two-thirds majority in the first round of voting. 29 votes went to the South Korean port city of Busan and 17 to the Italian capital, Rome.
For Saudi Arabia, hosting Expo 2030 is another building block in Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy of presenting the kingdom globally as a progressive country. With the “Vision 2030” program, Mohammed also pursues the objective of broadening the economic base and culturally opening up Saudi Arabia, which was previously heavily dependent on oil production.
The Football World Cup will also take place in Saudi Arabia in 2034; the desert kingdom was the only candidate state. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s international reputation is under pressure. Human rights activists accuse the government of violently persecuting opponents and suppressing freedom of expression. Airstrikes during the civil war in neighboring Yemen and the murder of anti-government journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 have damaged the country’s reputation.